Chapter Text
Scar wasn't expecting to be a hostage tonight.
Mumbo saw the villain warning and had asked him to stay at the hospital for a little longer, but he declined. Rather he wanted to go back home to spend time with his cat, Jellie. He wanted his shift to end as fast as possible. He was exhausted and didn't think of the possible consequences of a villain being around. Even though Cleo has warned him several times. He just wanted to be home in his apartment to sleep the night away while his cat snuggled beside him. Instead he had a weapon to his neck and a villain threatening two battered heroes with his safety.
"A step closer and this civilian dies." The villain said, staring down the two heroes, his voice having a reverb to it.
"Give it up, Wildcard, you can't run. The other heroes are on their way and you'll have nowhere to hide," A hero in a red hood, Cardinal, stated holding her scythe ready to attack.
Scar's stomach dropped, he recognized that name. Wildcard, an unpredictable villain with nameless morals and unknown powers. Why him of all the villains, why did it have to be him. His chances of surviving is now a total coin flip. Why, he froze looking at the hero's panic and fear filtering through his face.
"Step away from the civilian and put your weapons down," The other hero, Animorph, demanded a spear in hand and eyes calculating.
The villain barked out a laugh,"I'll never drop my weapons or surrender," He paused, eyes narrowing on Cardinal then continued, putting his weapon away, "Anyways I had fun and all, but I have places to be. So I'll be off," Scar yelped as the villain picked him up, "Oh and if you try to follow me I'll drop him."
With that the stalemate broke, with them in the air and a spear being thrown at them. Surprisingly Animorph wasn't the one that threw it, instead he was holding back an angry Cardinal. Scar watched as another hero, most definitely Vision, teleported beside his team worried.
Minutes later Scar found himself in an alleyway facing the collapsed villain. He saw the signature black gas mask emitting a purple hue that matched his bow tie; he saw the red lenses of his glasses that matched his red vest. Then he noticed the villain holding his shoulder; noticed his shallow breathing. He noticed his blond disheveled hair. He should have ran instead of helping. He knew better than to help but he couldn't leave him. He couldn't just watch as someone was in pain, not even if that person was a villain.
“Why aren't you running away?” Wildcard asked, causing Scar to jump.
“Oh, umm…” He wasn't expecting the villain to be conscious at the moment, “your shoulder is in pain, right?”
The villain didn't answer, instead he stared at him confused, wondering how that's an answer and why would he care about him being in pain.
Under the other's gaze, Scar fidgeted with his hair growing more nervous and unsure of what to say. Taking a deep breath he landed on saying “I can take a look at the shoulder if you want.”
“Why?” Wildcard voiced, confusement still apparent on his face.
“Well, I'm a doctor-ish so I can help.” He said simply, like that answered everything.
“No,” The villain tried again, “why are you trying to help me?”
“You're in pain,” Scar said without a thought.
“I just held you hostage and you want to help me because I'm in pain.” The other retorted, coughing a bit, unable to wrap his mind around someone willingly helping a villain.
“Yes, I can't just watch when someone is hurt and I can help.” He stated, feeling as if he was talking to a stubborn patient instead of someone dangerous.
“I'm part of the Underground.” Wildcard said bewildered, taking shallow breaths again.
“You're also in pain.” He shot back, stepping a bit closer, his fear slipping away.
Scar watched as the villain opened his mouth to say more than pause looking at his ear. He seemed to be having a silent debate with himself before slumping in defeat.
Wildcard sighed, “Fine,” he raised his head to look at Scar again, “Fine, you can help me.”
“Good, now let me take a look at your shoulder.” He said, crouching down to the same level as the villain.
He put his bag against the wall and got to work. He got rid of the black fabric that was in the way. He then tried to see the severity of the injury but without sufficient light he couldn't see much. He unconsciously put his hand on the villain's shoulder and concentrated, making his hand glow red.
Wildcard surprised asked, “You have a healing ability? How are you a doctor and not forced to be a healer for the Hero Corp.?”
Thrown off guard by the questions, the red glow died. It took a second for his brain to catch up and realize what he had done wrong. He wasn't at the hospital. He couldn't use his ability discreetly here.
“Oh, umm, no… my ability can't heal it can only identify injuries and it… it also helps my hands move a little faster. Nothing important for the Corp. to know.” Scar explained, frowning at his own mistake as he tried to concentrate on his ability again.
“I see. So your ability isn't registered by the Hero Corp.” The villain thought, then questioned, “How do you keep people from knowing you have one and how do you keep them from reporting you?”
“I have a friend that looks out for me. If someone notices he says ‘you must be seeing things from the adrenaline’ or ‘You must still be high off the anesthesia’.” He answered looking through his bag, pushing away his fear response.
“He must be a great friend then.” The villain commented, looking at the sky.
“Yeah he is.” Scar softened, taking the bandages, needles, and string out of his bag; making them float. “Okay well I'm going to have to give you stitches on your shoulder and bandage the cut on your leg.” He told the villain plainly, concentrating so nothing fell.
“Well at least I have a doctor doing this and not some rando.” Wildcard spoke, watching the doctor put string on the needle.
Scar paused looking at the injury then at the villain, then back at the injury. “Yeah, no, I've never actually stitched a person up. You're my first actual patient… also you have a fractured rib.” He said, starting to stitch the shoulder.
Wildcard sat there, stunned comprehending the information. “Wait… what do you mean you've never done stitches on someone. Aren't you a doctor!?” He practically shouted, slightly horrified and in a coughing fit again.
“I'm a trainee. I've only been allowed to help with diagnosing patients or gathering supplies or talking to them. Never actually working on them.” He said, finishing the stitch and beginning to bandage the shoulder. “Don't worry though. I've seen Dr. Jumbo do what I just did plenty of times on worse injuries.” He continued, completely forgetting who he was talking to.
“You work with Dr. Jumbo?” The villain questioned as soon as Scar finished bandaging the stitches.
Everything fell. Panic hitting him immediately after the question was put in the air. He made a note to himself not to say his own name, but he basically told Wildcard where he worked. He practically told him his identity. He shot up, backing away from him, covering his mouth. He didn't mean to spill so much information with one sentence! The villain watched, amusement seeping through the mask and glasses. He now had a lead of who this civilian was.
“Doctor, can you finish treating me before panicking about what you revealed?” The villain spoke his tone shifting, “The cut on my leg still needs bandages and I don't know how to fix a fractured rib.” He pointed out.
Scar was up against a wall trying to compose himself. Trying to not let fear grab a hold of him, he shakily said, “You can not really… doctors can't actually fix a fract- a fractured rib,” He paused, fidgeting with his clothing, before continuing to speak less shakily. “But I can bandage you- your leg properly.”
With that said Wildcard picked up the bandages, dusted them off, and grinned, “If you don't mind then that would be lovely.”
Trembling, he took the bandages and began treating the cut silently. With his hands glowing red, Scar worked faster than he thought he could. The villain got up as soon as he finished working. He felt the other observing him as he started placing everything back in his bag.
The villain, now focusing his attention on something else, broke the silence. “The heroes are on their way and will be here soon,” locking eyes with the doctor he continued, “Thank you for helping me, but I have to leave now.”
Scar watched as Wildcard glanced at the sky and vanished. Completely gone, purple bow tie and all. Not long after, the hero Vision appeared in front of him. He looked pathetic, in front of the hero. He was holding his bag to his chest, sitting against the wall, trying his best to not crumble. He heard the hero say something into his yellow helmet, but he couldn't care less. He just wanted to go home.
“Sir, are you alright?” Vision asked, concerned and holding out his hand.
“I'm great.” He sarcastically answered, getting himself up off the ground, “I just wanted to go home…” he tiredly added, making the hero uncomfortable.
“That would be nice wouldn't it.” Animorph spoke, his voice humanly robotic. “Cardinal is hunting Wildcard right as we speak. He couldn't have gone far with his injuries so don't worry. We'll try to catch him quickly.” He said, standing at the sidewalk, his smile tight and unnerving.
Something felt off about this. What was the time? How long has he been in this alleyway? Why did it take so long for the heroes to find him? When did these heroes start looking for him? Scar stiffened, putting his guard up immediately. He took in every detail he could of the heroes before him.
Vision's weapon of choice black brass knuckles. His outfit consisted of a tight black shirt and black baggy jeans. Alongside that, his accessories were yellow gloves, and a motorcycle helmet with a blacked out visor. He seemed like a stern but empathetic hero.
After studying Vision for a few seconds he turned his attention to Animorph. His chosen weapon, a double-bladed spear. His teal hair was adorned with a gold crown of stars. His outfit consisted of a teal button up, white vest, white dress pants, brown boots-like dress shoes and a white cape. He noticed the gold accents that accompanied the white pieces of clothing. He looked like a prince, the Corporation's perfect hero.
Neither one of them had dirt on their outfits.
“Sir, why don't we go to the Hero Corp. You could have some injuries that our healers can take care of.” Vision suggested, snapping Scar back to reality.
“Yes, let my team help you after what you went through tonight.” Animorph added almost instantly.
“I'd much rather go home right now then go to the Corporation.” Scar stated, knowing they would test him for an ability the moment he would step in that building. Yes he might have accidentally revealed his ability to a villain, but willingly going to the Hero Corp. could reveal his ability to the world. He didn't want that. He doesn't want his ability going public or becoming another hero in the system.
“Are you sure, Sir?” Vision asked, genuinely concerned for him.
Looking back at the hero with reassurance in his voice he answered, “I'm sure I'll be fine!” before walking towards the sidewalk and out of the alleyway.
“Well,” Animorph started, stepping in front of him, “if you notice anything new or if something feels different, don't hesitate to contact us. We'll be more than happy to help you.” He smiled, giving him a card.
Taking the card, Scar continued walking home. He heard the heroes begin regrouping behind him. Wildcard has escaped. He knew that the moment he heard Animorph curse the villain's name. He couldn't care less as his apartment was only a few blocks away.
The night was over for him. He was finally in front of his apartment, being greeted by his welcome mat. He opened the door and found a hungry Jellie waiting for him.
Crouching down he patted the top of her head smiling, “Hey girl, sorry I'm late! I got held up a little while walking here,” He stood up and strolled over to the kitchen. Causing her to follow him as he continued talking, “I met someone interesting and terrifying today. He was being chased and used me to get away. It was scary in the moment but after he seemed… well human. He even questioned why I didn't get to safety and run. You know I don't think he is as bad as the heroes make him.” Completing making her food, he put it around her feeding station and asked, “What do you think about all this, Jellie?”
Scar saw her eyes widen as she chirped a response before running to her food.
“You are completely right. I need to talk to mom and tell her what happened!” He said, taking out his phone and already dialing a number.
After a few seconds the call connected and a familiar voice rang out “Hey, sweetie. How have you been?”
Wildcard tore his gaze away from the doctor's green eyes and teleported to a rooftop. Looking back he saw Vision materialize in front of the civilian. Knowing the doctor was mostly safe, he traveled as quickly as Vision's ability allowed, home. After his power went out, he began running and tapped his earpiece thrice unmuting his informant.
“Finally! Why'd you have to mute me, man? I couldn't warn you when the heroes were getting near you and that doctor. And–” The voice said, starting to scold him.
“I saw the heroes before they came so it's fine. And I muted you because you kept yelling at me” Wildcard remarked, interrupting the voice.
The guy in the earpiece gasped “I can't believe you. You were going to bleed to death from that stab wound and the guy was wanting to help you! Yeah I yelled at you. It's not like you can go to a hospital! Also that person was a doctor!”
“He was a trainee and I was his first patient. Do you know how horrified I was?” He remarked.
“He said he works with Mumbo. You know your other best friend. You would have been fine” The man shot back.
“Yeah, yeah, but I didn't know that until he finished stitching my shoulder.” He countered, holding his rib so it wouldn't hurt as much. “Oh, and about that, can you narrow down who that doctor was, Skizzly?” He asked.
“Three steps ahead of you, G–man!” The man answered, typing away on his computer, “May I ask what you're planning?” He questioned moving his face away from the screen.
“Nothing yet,” He shrugged.
“Okay, well good news for you is, I've narrowed the suspects down to three people.” Skizz said, looking at his phone.
“And the bad news?” Grian asked, turning down a familiar road.
“Mumbo just texted that he got off work a little early and would be home in about five–ten minutes” He answered, texting a thumbs up in the group chat.
Wildcard began sprinting down the roads and taking shallow breaths again saying “I'll be home in about three. Please, get everything ready for me”
“No problem G. See you in three, bye” The man responded, turning off his computers.
It wasn't long before Grian came in through the back door. He threw his mask, earpiece, and glasses on the couch while quickly walking to the bathroom. Skizz took the items off the couch and quickly hid them upstairs. Coming back down he decided to make some tea, knowing that both of his roommates would want some.
After a few minutes, Grian came out of the shower, his hair still wet. He wore a white button up under a red sweater and black jeans. He hurriedly took his uniform and hid it in the laundry to be washed later. As he was walking to the kitchen counter, Mumbo came through the door looking like he was gonna collapse.
“Man, dude, you look like you were working a nine hour shift” Skizz spoke, already making a cup of tea.
Mumbo stared at him blankly “That's because I just did…I just did, right?” he questioned, looking at his watch causing Grian to snicker.
“Yes, Mumbo you did. Now here your tea is ready” Skizz confirmed, setting down a tea cup at the counter.
“May I have a cup of tea too?” Grian asked with a slight cough, sitting at the table.
“Sure thing man” Skizz said, already making another cup and sneaking in pain killers into this one.
Mumbo put his bag on the floor and took his jacket off, hanging it on a hook. He then went to sit beside Grian. Taking a sip of tea he sighed clearly tired.
“What's wrong Mumbo?” Grian questioned, noticing him looking into his tea with a worried expression.
“Mhm” He shrugged replying, “It's nothing really”
“Well, it's definitely not nothing if it's bothering you,” Skizz said, putting the cup of tea he finished in front of Grian.
Mumbo didn't talk immediately but after a minute of both Grian and Skizz waiting for an answer he relented saying “I'm just worried for a coworker. He manages to get in all sorts of trouble. He ignored the villain warning and decided to go home since his cat was more important. Now I can't help but worry. It feels like he got himself into something he really shouldn't have”
The other two gave each other a knowing look before quickly reassuring him.
“I'm sure he’s fine,” Skizz spoke, patting Mumbo's shoulder.
Grian, holding onto his cup, joked “I bet he is at home right now spending time with his cat.”
“You are right. I'm probably worrying about nothing.” Mumbo said, somehow already finishing his tea. “Speaking about cats, where are our pets?” He asked, noticing their missing presents.
Grian looked around and repeated the question, “Yeah where have our pets gone?”
“Mhmm,” Skizz thought then answered “I'm pretty sure Pearl and Maui are in your room G. And Kubo is asleep in Mambo's room. So that leaves my five in the pet room, already fed and also sleeping.”
“That makes sense.” Mumbo yawned, stretching his arms, “Well I'm going to turn in for tonight and head to bed. Good night you two.” He said tiredly, getting up and heading to his room.
“Good night to you too.” Both Grian and Skizz said.
Grian sipped his tea waiting till he was sure Mumbo had fallen asleep. A few minutes after he was sure, he started talking “Sooo… you have narrowed down who the doctor could be, right?” he paused, seeing the half empty hot chocolate in the other's hand, “When did you make yourself a mug of hot chocolate?”
Skizz rolled his eyes “I can't be the only one without a drink and yes I have. You wanna head to my computer to see who it could be?”
“Absolutely!” he answered, already walking to their shared office.
Skizz followed close behind, holding his mug. Grian grabbed the USB that was hiding within the fake plant and gave it to him. Taking the USB Skizz turned on his computer then put it in causing a new browsing web and folder to pop up. He sat down and opened the folder then a file. The file contained a photo of each of the three suspects.
Grian immediately recognized the doctor by the two scars on his friendly face and emerald eyes. His hair was definitely longer than the clean cut he had in the photo. His hair was about shoulder length now, but that was definitely the same person.
“That's him. That's the doctor, Skizz.” He said, pointing to the second photo.
Skizz clicked the photo, bringing them to a google doc and commenting, “He does look like the sort of person to unintentionally get into trouble. I can see why Mumbo would be worried for him.”
Grian laughed quietly, “Mumbo is always worried for everyone.”
“If he knew what kind of trouble you were getting into, he would have a heart attack from worrying.” Skizz joked, as the other skimmed over the information that was gathered.
“I'm not the only one getting myself into this hero and villain trouble, Skizzly.” Grian pointed out, poking his shoulder.
“That's not what the articles about Wildcard say!” Skizz retorted, swatting the hand away and trying to lightly jab Grian's rib.
Grian easily dodged the jab then held his side, pretending he was stabbed. “Skizzly I thought we were friends, but to think you would stab me in my injured rib. How will I live knowing my trusted ally betrayed me?” He dramatically said.
“Oh no, I must have been brainwashed or controlled!” Skizz played along.
Grian rolled his eyes, laughing “The Corporation doesn't have the guts to try or learn how to brainwash and control people!”
“Doesn't their propaganda practically brainwash people?” Skizz countered.
“Only because what they say is halfway true. They can't outright control people like Cleo can” Grian responded, taking the USB out of the computer and putting it back within the fake plant.
“You aren't wrong about that,” Skizz agreed, turning his computer off.
“Well, today was fun but I'm going to turn in for tonight.” Grian spoke, walking out of the room into the hallway.
“Yeah, I think I'm going to go to bed too.” Skizz said as he closed the door behind him, “Good night, sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite G!” he recited like a parent.
“Good Night, Skizzly.” Grian tiredly said walking to his room upstairs.